30 Day Reboot – Halfway There

Well, I am officially more than half way done with my 30-Day Reboot. And you know what? It has been pretty great so far! Just to recap for those of you who are new, I’m doing 30 days without any grains, added sugars (including honey, agave, and non-caloric sweeteners like stevia), and alcohol. I also want to add in, since I didn’t address this in the first post, there’s also a big blanket “no junk” rule. I think that “junk” can be subjective in some cases (I mean I think we can all agree that Twinkies are junk, but people go either way on crackers. See what I mean?). So, while yes, within the rules of no grains/sugar/alcohol, I guess I could technically live off of french fries and potato chips, but that would defeat the whole purpose.

So while no grains/sugar/alcohol can seem fairly easy, it’s really much bigger than that. It’s about getting back to whole foods, re-learning to appreciate the simplicity and flavors of real food that doesn’t have a bunch of stuff added to it.

For those of you who remember, I initially said that I would be going completely gluten free, but that I would be allowing very limited grains, such as rice once per week. After the first week though, I had been completely grain free and felt great, so I thought I might as well keep that up for the whole 30 days.

How I’ve Felt So Far: Surprisingly Easy Transition Period

Day 1 – The first day, I was feeling so crappy from some horrible eating over the weekend, so this was really just a huge relief. I felt fresh and excited — I think my body was just craving veggies so badly, after a junk food and hangover filled weekend.

Day 2 -I was extremely sleepy, I assume as my body was adjusting to the lack of sugar. I seriously almost fell asleep at work, and felt like I was in some sort of daze.

Day 5 – Following day two, I felt surprisingly normal, but once day five rolled around, I went on megabitch status for about 24 hours. I was irritable, stressed, anxious, and just all around feeling horrible. I got stuck in traffic at one point that day, and you should have heard the verbal venom that was coming out of my mouth — this was not your typical road rage. I even got so angry that day, that while waiting for take out, I almost strangled the girl in front of me in line because she was chewing gum with her mouth open. She wasn’t even being loud or obnoxious about it, I just couldn’t control my completely irrational rage.

Day 6/7 – These two days I was hit hard with a case of the sleepies. Unfortunately I was at a conference, which didn’t leave much time for napping, but boy was I wiped.

Day 8 – Honestly it was if I woke up on Day 8 to the first ever sunrise. I felt GREAT!!! I had high energy all day, and never hit that 3pm lull that I so often fall into. I even looked around at one point that afternoon, and realized that everyone else had that bleary eyed look that I’m so familiar with.

Day 12– Present – After feeling so great on day 8, and throughout the next few days, I really thought I was through the hard stuff. Then for some reason on day 12, I hit a point where I was just starving, tired, and had no appetite for anything healthy. Luckily that only lasted one day, and I’ve been feeling excellent ever since. I’ve wanted chocolate a few times, but other than that really haven’t had any cravings for anything I “can’t” have. Will and I even had friends over for the Pats game on Sunday, and although we had a lot of healthy snacks, I really wasn’t even tempted by the stuff that was off plan.

How I’m Feeling Physically:

Like I said, my energy levels are excellent right now. I don’t know that I’ve been sleeping better, but for the past four or five days, I’ve been able to get up and out of bed feeling wide awake, instead of snoozing and still feeling asleep for the first 30 minutes I’m up.

I don’t know that I’ve lost any real weight thus far, and that was not my goal, but I have definitely dropped a bunch of water weight. I feel lighter, de-bloated, and all of my clothes, especially pants, are a little bit looser.

For some reason, although I’m still eating the same breakfast at the same time as always, I’ve been getting hungrier in the mornings, about halfway through my workouts. I don’t know why this is, but it doesn’t seem to have affected my workouts up to this point.

Despite feeling lighter and maybe dropping a pound or two, I feel as strong as ever. This week and last week, my lifts have been excellent. Even though I’ve been getting a little hungry during my workouts, I’ve been hitting some great high intensity lifts, as well as really great conditioning sessions.

How I’m Feeling Mentally:

Like I said, the cravings have been minimal. Besides the one day of complete psychosis, I honestly have had an easier time with this than I would have imagined. Now, as this is a modified Whole 30, I imagine that I would have had a lot more cravings and would be having a harder time had I cut out dairy as well, but I guess we’ll never know, unless I someday do a real Whole 30 (not likely).

I also have noticed that I’m loving fruit more than ever before — I think that with the lack of any added sugar, the natural flavors and sugars in fruit just taste that much better. I’m still not eating a ton of fruit, but more than I did in the past – about two to three pieces per day (a banana in the morning, then an apple or pear in the afternoon, with the occasional clementine thrown in with lunch).

Two Weeks Left. Now What?

So, with a little less than two weeks left, I’d say that I’m really happy with the way things are going so far. As I said, I feel great, and I think this was just a necessary break after the craziness of the holidays. The biggest challenge right now is my social life — it’s difficult to go out to eat with these “rules”, and let’s face it, life is just a little more fun when you have wine. But 30 days isn’t forever, and I think it’s a good challenge to have under my belt. Will has been more than supportive, he’s been a good sport trying things like cauliflower rice instead of the real deal (although, he’s been having regular rice too, because, I mean, it’s good).

Readers: Have you ever gone grain free or sugar free? What foods do you crave most often?

1 thought on “30 Day Reboot – Halfway There”

Good job girl! And keep up the good work! I used to do the same thing, where for a month I would give up dairy, sugar, and breads, but the truth is, it started feeling so darn good that it gradually become the norm for me know. But with that said, I do allow the cheat meal once a week. I know exactly what you mean about the fruit. i used to be very “meh” about fruit, but after being off sugar for long, I crave it. And now, when I do have something with sugar (had a mouthful of coke the other day), I find it disgusting. Way too sweet!
The largest craving I battle is dairy. I miss cheese sometimes. But next to that it’s coffee. I’ve also stopped consuming caffeine but I miss the taste of a warm coffee (especially in the winter). I guess I could do decaf, but my worry is that if I start drinking decafe even, the taste will just ignite all the cravings.

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Welcome to I Train Therefore I Eat! I'm Stephanie Rondeau MS, ATC, CSCS, CHC, and I'm a certified health coach and personal trainer in Boston, MA. My goal is to motivate and inspire, and to help people lead healthier, happier lives, free of food guilt and deprivation.I offer personal training, bootcamp classes, and health coaching services both locally and for distance clients. I hope you enjoy what you find here, and please feel free to contact me for more information on services. Welcome, and I hope you stick around for a while!